11:03 am Monday, 28th October, 2013
In the last five years there has been a gigantic leap in the amount of people who enter into relationships with a work colleague. In a wide spread survey 32% of people interviewed admitted they had at some point been romantically involved with a work comrade.
Starts With Friends
Increasingly workers are enduring longer hours whilst laboring within close proximity. They’re brought together through their work place’s tough and happy times to give support and laugh with one another. Because of these ups and downs that they share together the relationship is cemented and this is how the affair between two colleagues tends to begin, just as friends. It’s also this belief that their friendship is simply platonic that can allow the potential for things to snowball out of control.
Don’t Become Office Gossip
If this sounds like you, remember the closeness of your workplace that allowed you to become so chummy with your companion, imagine if you were to get involved with one another and have a fall out. Turning into work every day could become an awkward affair with the space you operate in being so enclosed, no doubt your other workmates will gossip about any events gone over and possibly even act biased toward one or the other. This ultimately means not only are any friendships you may share with colleagues at stake, but also your job as the support network you enjoyed before could be affected and sooner or later your quality of work.
Not Work And Play, It’s Work Or Play
You stand the chance of distancing yourself from your assistants as you spend more work time with your ‘spouse’. There’s also the danger of losing respect from the others or your boss, as gossip does travel. By becoming involved with a peer, the gaff may question your dedication to the company and how seriously you take your job. You stand the chance of jeopardizing a promotion or even your livelihood itself should your boss be very scrupulous about the well-being of the company.
Are there any positives for being involved with a colleague when you may be gambling with your employment?
Brighten The Work Day
The 9 till 5 drone would be a little more exciting when you know your oh so engrossing one will be there to brighten your day and no doubt speed up a bit with flirty glances across the office. Spending all your waking time together you would always have something in common, the average couple will tell one another about their day and the funny thing that happened that ‘you needed to be there for‘ to get it. Two people that work and sleep together don’t have that problem, they’re synced with one another’s lives and are a part of all areas.
It’s up to you to decide how far you let a relationship with a teammate go and whether you’re willing to risk your position or not. It can be hard stopping yourself from getting too close to someone when you spend so much time with them, and it can be easy to overstep the line if you do find them attractive. You do need to think before you act in this situation, weigh up the pros and cons and make an informed decision rather than a spontaneous one as it could end up costing you more than you bargained for.
